Like everything else in Hollywood, Christmas is all about extreme excess. Since Dominic and I both work with some of the wealthiest people on the planet we've had a first hand peek at just how obscene Christmas out here can be.
My colleagues had informed me that Christmas at our school is a big deal and that I would be receiving many gifts but I had NO IDEA it would be like this! I thought little ol' me might get a few gift cards, some cookies, maybe a candle or two. What I ended up with was more than I could ever imagine seeing at Christmas.
At first, I was apprehensive about receiving gifts from the families since gift giving/receiving is not my favorite thing about Christmas, but the school sent out this letter informing the parents that we appreciate their thoughtfulness but gifts would not be necessary. The letter resonated with my views on Christmas and I thought it would be a powerful deterrent but in the end I received gifts from 49 of the 60 families I work with! Some were small and thoughtful, others were big and thoughtful, and some were just obscene! I received them all graciously and am VERY thankful for the gift cards as they will help Dominic and I through a financial squeeze.
As grateful as I am for all the gifts I've received, I can't help but feel uneasy about this tradition of material gifts. My misgivings were affirmed when the "Spirit of Giving" showed its ugly side on Christmas eve.
Prepared to spend the day together Dominic and I were interrupted by his work (his firm does interior design for the rich and famous). He received several frantic phone calls about a side table that needed to be under a certain potty-mouthed celebrity's tree ASAP or there would be hell to pay. A cluster fuck ensued that resulted in Dominic having to pick up the $8,000 side table and delivering it to the delivery guys who were waiting for paint to dry on another piece of furniture for the same family.
During the fiasco I had to play middle man to some phone calls and I asked Dominic's coworker if these celebrities knew that no matter how much money they have it still takes time for paint to dry, and side tables to fly across the ocean? He informed me that they know it but it won't stop them from raising hell about the fact that [Dominic's firm] didn't make it happen faster. And it didn't matter what had to happen or who had to sacrifice, those tables had to make it to their destination by Christmas day because December 25th is so God damned special that if the $8,000 table couldn't be unwrapped on that day it might as well be sent back and Christmas 2008 would be ruined for one multi-millionaire family.
Through hell and high water the pieces arrived by Christmas and the Spirit of Giving is alive and well in one celebrity home, though they may never know how many little people were stepped on and abused to make it happen. Merry Christmas!